Schoolcraft Elementary students win performance by rock and roll nutrition band

The rock and roll nutrition show Jump with Jill selected Schoolcraft Elementary School as winners of their statewide contest.

Jump with Jill is a live rock and roll nutrition show created by Registered Dietitian and musician Jill Jayne. The show uses singable messages to make healthy habits memorable including eating vegetables (“Superpower Vegetables!”), enjoying fruit (“Nature’s Candy”), and exercising regularly (“The Beat of Our Body!”). Jump with Jill has been performed live over 1,000 times for more than a quarter of a million kids all over the United States and Europe and has been featured in national media outlets including Nickelodeon, Sprout PBS, NPR, and The Washington Post.

For winning, the cast will stop at Schoolcraft to perform for the students at 2 p.m. Friday. The statewide tour of Michigan elementary schools runs until Dec. 20 and will include 55 schools.

“We reached over 18,000 students on our spring tour,” said Hailey McDonell, a Detroit-native who stars as “Jill” in the Michigan Jump with Jill cast. “Our goal for our Michigan dairy farmer partnership this year was to make the show accessible for schools that want to make health a part of their educational agenda.”

The cast, which also stars Holland-native Devon Watson as “DJ,” travels in a bright orange van with a giant picture of Jill’s face and a blinged out milk jug.

With the generosity of the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, winning schools not only get a free performance but also receive Jump with Jill educational materials including CDs of the show’s music, posters and nutrition education swag.

“Dairy is one of easiest and richest ways that kids can get the Calcium they need for strong bones,” says Deanne Kelleher of the United Dairy Industry of Michigan. “We continue to offer Jump with Jill to Michigan schools because the show uses behaviorally-focused music to make choosing a drink like milk over soda the coolest thing in the world. Have you seen her perform ‘The Bone Rap’? I mean seriously.”

Schoolcraft School is located at 6400 Maceday Dr. in Waterford Township. For more information, visit www.jumpwithjill.com/michigan.